2008 Woodie Awards
Bye-bye, bottles
Lindsay Stuart
Issue date: 9/13/07 Section: News
You've just gotten home from a long run and are thirsty. Reaching into the refrigerator, what do you grab?
If you're like many students, you grab a bottled beverage such as Gatorade, or even water. Bottled beverages seem to be the preference of many people in recent years, and some say it's causing a big problem for the environment.
Because of the increase in bottled beverages produced and consumed in the past few years, land fills are filling up and the national recycling rate is dropping.
According to www.cleanair.org, Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour.
On the SIUE campus alone, almost 15,000 cases of bottled beverages are sold a year.
"If I had my way, I would do away completely with plastic bottles," Dining Services Director Bill Canney said. "But for one reason and one reason only, I don't, because our margin sales are better with bottled beverages. The main thing is convenience. Bottles are easier. They can just pick them up and go and they have a lid."
A www.cleanair.org study estimates only a tenth of all garbage in the United States is recycled.
To decrease the number of plastic bottles thrown away, SIUE offers a more environmentally friendly option.
Reusable drink cups with the SIUE 50th anniversary logo are sold in University Bookstore and at Center Court. These cups cost less than $3 and can be refilled for 50 cents.
"The best way to address (the plastic bottle problem) is with the reusable cups," Canney said "I have 10,000 of the 50th anniversary ones, and we are selling them at a reasonable price. … We need to increase awareness that by carrying this back and forth to school with you it would cut down on the level of bottles and cans used. To me, its all a matter of reuse and reduce."
SIUE also offers many recycling containers around campus, in residence halls and in Cougar Village.
"As each year has gone by, the volume in the green recycling bins has continued to increase," Canney said. "I don't know if there is an increase in sensitivity to that or if more people are aware of doing stuff like that. I play my role by making sure the recycling bins are out there for people to utilize. Whether they utilize them or not is their choice."
If you're like many students, you grab a bottled beverage such as Gatorade, or even water. Bottled beverages seem to be the preference of many people in recent years, and some say it's causing a big problem for the environment.
Because of the increase in bottled beverages produced and consumed in the past few years, land fills are filling up and the national recycling rate is dropping.
According to www.cleanair.org, Americans throw away 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour.
On the SIUE campus alone, almost 15,000 cases of bottled beverages are sold a year.
"If I had my way, I would do away completely with plastic bottles," Dining Services Director Bill Canney said. "But for one reason and one reason only, I don't, because our margin sales are better with bottled beverages. The main thing is convenience. Bottles are easier. They can just pick them up and go and they have a lid."
A www.cleanair.org study estimates only a tenth of all garbage in the United States is recycled.
To decrease the number of plastic bottles thrown away, SIUE offers a more environmentally friendly option.
Reusable drink cups with the SIUE 50th anniversary logo are sold in University Bookstore and at Center Court. These cups cost less than $3 and can be refilled for 50 cents.
"The best way to address (the plastic bottle problem) is with the reusable cups," Canney said "I have 10,000 of the 50th anniversary ones, and we are selling them at a reasonable price. … We need to increase awareness that by carrying this back and forth to school with you it would cut down on the level of bottles and cans used. To me, its all a matter of reuse and reduce."
SIUE also offers many recycling containers around campus, in residence halls and in Cougar Village.
"As each year has gone by, the volume in the green recycling bins has continued to increase," Canney said. "I don't know if there is an increase in sensitivity to that or if more people are aware of doing stuff like that. I play my role by making sure the recycling bins are out there for people to utilize. Whether they utilize them or not is their choice."
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